Vamos Gatos!

Back in 1973, the Florida panther was added to the endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act, making it illegal to harm or harass a panthers in Florida for any reason. Someone probably should have told the Edmonton Oilers of that detail because the Florida Panthers finally brought the 2023-24 season to a close by winning the Stanley Cup on home ice in Sunrise, Florida after eliminating the Oilers in seven games. I'm not sure everyone was confident after Edmonton's three-game surge to erase the 3-0 deficit they faced, but the Panthers got the job done in the biggest game of their season!

This franchise has come a long way since being founded in 1993. They shocked a number of people by making the Stanley Cup Final in 1995-96, but were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in a series where they seemed overmatched. Following that run, there weren't many playoff victories of which they could speak as the Panthers made the playoffs only four times in the next 22 seasons, and those four times resulted in total of zero playoff series wins. The Panthers couldn't give away tickets to fill their arena's lower bowl despite having some incredible players, and it seemed that the future of the franchise may be in a different city and state.

In 2013, Vincent Viola used his incredible wealth to buy the majority stake of the Florida Panthers with one goal in mind: make it successful. It's a no-brainer to say that all NHL teams want to win the Stanley Cup, but Viola needed fan support, butts in seats, and a new outlook in building a team if he was going to claim success.

Some of the more interesting moves included offering Tim Thomas a PTO in 2013, acquiring via trade and signing 44 year-old Jaromir Jagr to one year-deal in 2016, and panther logo was retired in favour of the new "shield panther" in 2016 as well. In 2014, co-owner Doug Cifu told reporters that "the current business model is not sustainable" as the Panthers reported losses of $30 million annually, they dressed goalie coach Rob Tallas as an EBUG in both 2013 and 2015, and there was the Gerard Gallant firing that made a lot of people question the way the Panthers were being run.

Along the way, though, they did get some things right. We'll start in 2020 when they hired Bill Zito to replace Dale Tallon. In 2022 after Zito made a few changes to the roster, the Panthers won the President's Trophy only to lose to Tampa Bay in the playoffs, costing head coach Andrew Brunette his job. Zito decided to change the outlook of his team in dealing Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk, and the Panthers found themselves in the Stanley Cup Final last season. Yes, they came up short against the Vegas Golden Knights, but the experience they gained and confidence they built in their run last season can't be denied.

Tonight, it almost look like that experience and confidence carried them one game short, but Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart found enough offence for the Cats while Sergei Bobrovsky looked like a $10 million goalie with his 23 saves on 24 shots including a handful during the late flurry Edmonton created as they pressed for an equalizer. Dmitry Kulikov had an outstanding defensive play late as well that may have saved a goal, and Florida's best players blocked shots, took hits to make plays, and skated harder on the backcheck to make the win happen tonight. A win's a win, and no one said it had to be pretty.

In short, the Florida Panthers earned the parade tonight!

For guys like Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad who have been playing in Sunrise since 2013 and 2014, respectively, they deserve this victory after going through a lot of lean years.

For guys like Bobrovsky, Reinhart, and Sam Bennett who were seen as playoff underachievers and guys who simply couldn't get their teams to the next level, they deserve this victory to quiet their detractors.

For Paul Maurice, the victory was sweet after all his time in the NHL without a Stanley Cup, but perhaps a better ending was finding out that he's still a Winnipegger at heart even if he's not from Winnipeg.

I don't know if that's going to happen next season or in any season beyond, but that's a heckuva statement on national television from a guy who won the hearts of Winnipeggers with his humour and candidness every time he spoke. Paul Maurice may not be from Winnipeg, but he'll always have a place here thanks to his eight memorable seasons with the Jets.

It took 31 years for the Florida Panthers to finally stand atop the mountain in the NHL, and they'll celebrate their first Stanley Cup with a parade on Sunday. For the fans who went through ownership sagas and players wanting out, the victory will be sweeter in knowing that this team was all-in after missing their shot the season before. Expect south Florida to be in party mode for the rest of the week as they get set to celebrate the first Stanley Cup by the NHL's southernmost team!

In 2024-25, the Panthers go from being hunters to being the hunted after winning the Stanley Cup tonight! To all Panthers players, fans, coaches, staff, and owner, enjoy the spoils that being the victors brings! Congratulations to the 2024 Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!